Blue color, if her feathers stick out, then happiness will certainly be in everything and always.

But every adult attributes happiness to mythical creatures. Wildlife lovers know that blue magpie bird lives in the real world, but does not fulfill human desires, as in a fairy tale.

Features and habitat of the blue magpie

The corvid family is proud of the blue magpie, which is similar in appearance to the common magpie, only with short legs and a small beak. Blue Magpie description has something special because of its shiny, iridescent feathers in the bright sun.

In poor lighting, the shine disappears, the feathers become dull and inconspicuous. The average length of a curious beauty is 33-36 centimeters. It weighs no more than 100 grams. The name comes from the color of the feathers.

terrain, where does the blue magpie live? planted with oaks and pine trees. can be found in pine and mixed forests. Light groves of pine trees, evergreen pines, and cork oaks on the Iberian Peninsula attract flocks.

Blue magpies are less common in closed forest areas. They are located in the pastures and fruit plantations of Extremadura, western Andalusia. Often found in southern Portugal.

Blue Magpie tends to nest in a park or garden with almond trees and olive groves. They go in search of food in small flocks. Bird nests are located on different trees. They make them with brushwood, strengthen them with earth, and cover the inside with moss.

The nests differ from those of ordinary magpies because they have an open top. Birds are distinguished by their unpretentiousness. They happily live on the territory of the zoo in special enclosures, although they reproduce in these conditions not as often as in the wild.

Blue Magpie, photo which can be found in books about birds and on websites on the Internet, in captivity it becomes a friend of man, without fear it is close and often treats itself to food from one’s hand. Buy a blue magpie You can use the media and information on various sites on the Internet.

Character and lifestyle of the blue magpie

Hunters often observe in established traps not a valuable fur-bearing animal, but a bird of a grayish-blue color. It is small in size with a long tail and a blackish spot on its head that looks like a cap.

There are traps that are completely empty, with no bait left, and nearby on the white snow there are blue feathers and traces of an animal that had breakfast with a bird. Such tricks are typical for blue people.

Nothing can be hidden from their watchful eyes. In the trap, the prepared bait is promptly tracked and destroyed. The bird deftly releases the spring, but often this trick ends in falling into the same trap. Thus, the rare bird becomes prey for predators.

In the photo there are azure magpies

For fishermen azure magpie does not always appear, as in a fairy tale, for good and good luck. Before the fisherman has time to spread out what he has caught, he swoops down on the prey and snatches a larger and tastier catch, instantly disappearing.

Why do magpies attack pigeons? is a pressing issue today. Scientists and lovers of the living world explain this fact by the coincidence in time of the appearance of chicks in these two species of birds. Magpies feed their babies animal food, so aggression towards others intensifies during this period.

In summer it is quite rare. It is located in deserted places bordered by deep floodplain forests. Colonies of birds from two to six pairs settle in willow trees, near water bodies, hiding behind driftwood. It happens that the birds’ home is a separate tree or a large, abandoned hollow.

Blue magpie feeding

They are omnivorous in their food consumption. Plant seeds are most often consumed. Almonds are her favorite dish, so you are most likely to meet her in a garden with almond trees.

Small rodents, carrion, mammals, amphibians, and invertebrates become victims of blue beauties and beauties. Birds do not refuse berries. Like the common magpie, the blue species has stealing skills.

Stealing fish from a fisherman and deftly pulling bait out of traps is not a problem for her. If a person knows that near his home lives blue magpie, buy food for her and at the same time pleasing the bird is not difficult.

In winter, blue magpies eat discarded bread, pieces of meat, and fish. People often install feeders during the cold season. Treat them with special attention because blue magpie is listed in the Red Book.

In search of food, flocks of 20-30 birds wander from place to place. There are times when pets fly out one by one to eat. But such trips happen rarely. Blue magpie voice has a sonorous, sonorous sound, which leads to falling into human captivity.

Reproduction and lifespan of the blue magpie

Bluebirds' nests are built from brushwood and earth and covered with moss. Each pair nests in a separate tree. Two nests side by side are very rare. The diameter of the dwelling is up to 30 centimeters, the depth is no more than 8 centimeters.

Blue magpie nest

In terms of quantity, the clutch consists of 6-8 eggs of different shapes and sizes, at most 9 brown eggs. Some of them have an elongated shape, others have a swollen appearance.

Females lay and incubate eggs every other day. The terms of incubation were not tracked, but on average they are 14-15 days. During the period of incubation of eggs, the male is responsible for food, feeding his mate.

Blue magpie chicks

The chicks very quickly become independent and leave their parents. In the wild, the blue magpie's lifespan is up to ten years.

Spreading

The species' distribution range extends from Central Asia to the Indonesian Islands in Southeast Asia. There, the bluebird lives in mountain forests up to the forest line at an altitude of approximately 2400 to 3000 m above sea level. During seasonal migrations, this species can also be found in tropical and mangrove forests.

Reproduction

It nests more often near mountain streams. There are usually 2 eggs in a clutch.

Nesting has been recorded in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Nominative subspecies - Myophonus caeruleus caeruleus flies to Primorsky Krai.

Subspecies

There are six subspecies:

• M.c. caeruleus(Scopoli, 1786) - central and eastern China
• M.c. temminckii Vigors, 1832 – western Tianshan south to Afghanistan and east across the Himalayas, eastern Assam to Sichuan, and northern and northeastern Myanmar
• M.c. eugenei Hume, 1873 - central, eastern and southeastern Myanmar, western, northern and eastern Thailand, central and southern Yunnan, and northern and central Indochina
• M.c. crassirostris Robinson, 1910 – southeastern Thailand, Cambodia and northern Malay Peninsula
• M.c. dichrorhynchus Salvadori, 1879 – center and south of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra
• M.c. flavirostris(Horsfield, 1821) - Java

Photo

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Notes

Literature

• Wolfgang Grummt, Harro Strehlow: Zootierhaltung: Tiere in menschlicher Obhut. Vögel. Harri Deutsch Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2, S. 628
• Morton Strange: A photographic guide to the birds of Southeast Asia including the Philippines & Borneo. Princeton University Press 2003, ISBN 978-0-691-11494-1, S. 305
• Jason A. Mobley: Birds of the World. Marshall Cavendish 2008, ISBN 978-0-7614-7775-4, S. 654

Links

• BirdLife International 2004. . IUCN 2006. Red List of Threatened Species.

Excerpt characterizing the Bluebird (bird)

The next day, the countess, inviting Boris to her place, talked with him, and from that day he stopped visiting the Rostovs.

On December 31, on New Year's Eve 1810, le reveillon [night supper], there was a ball at Catherine's nobleman's house. The diplomatic corps and the sovereign were supposed to be at the ball.
On the Promenade des Anglais, the famous house of a nobleman glowed with countless lights. At the illuminated entrance with a red cloth stood the police, and not only gendarmes, but the police chief at the entrance and dozens of police officers. The carriages drove off, and new ones drove up with red footmen and footmen with feathered hats. Men in uniforms, stars and ribbons came out of the carriages; ladies in satin and ermine carefully stepped down the noisily laid down steps, and hurriedly and silently walked along the cloth of the entrance.
Almost every time a new carriage arrived, there was a murmur in the crowd and hats were taken off.
“Sovereign?... No, minister... prince... envoy... Don’t you see the feathers?...” said from the crowd. One of the crowd, better dressed than the others, seemed to know everyone, and called by name the most noble nobles of that time.
Already one third of the guests had arrived at this ball, and the Rostovs, who were supposed to be at this ball, were still hastily preparing to dress.
There was a lot of talk and preparation for this ball in the Rostov family, a lot of fears that the invitation would not be received, the dress would not be ready, and everything would not work out as needed.

Species: Myophonus caeruleus = Bluebird

Blue bird in appearance it resembles a thrush, but differs in its longer tail and dark purple with a lilac tint of plumage. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed; The plumage of young birds is the same color as that of adults, but duller. The beak is yellow, high and strong. The legs are long and strong. Body length is about 350 mm, wing length is about 180 mm. These birds weigh 170-200g. Bluebirds are common in mountain gorges with sparse thickets of trees and shrubs (usually near streams, mountain streams and lakes) in Hindustan, in the southeast of Central Asia, in the central, southern and eastern provinces of China. They lead a sedentary lifestyle, but birds nesting high in the mountains move to lower places in the fall. Already in March, in nesting areas, you can hear loud, but at the same time gentle and melodic singing, consisting of separate, unrelated whistles. Each pair usually occupies a small gorge, in which they subsequently stay all year round and hatch chicks for several years in a row; other individuals and grown-up chicks that have become independent are expelled from the occupied area. In hard-to-reach places, in deep crevices between rocks or stones, always near water, birds make a nest, into which splashes sometimes fly.

The nest is made from elastic roots of plants and moss. This is a bulky and dense structure in the form of a shallow, thick-walled bowl, which lies on a thick layer of moss thrown into the crevice by birds. Usually the same nest serves a couple for several years in a row: the birds only repair it every year. In May, the female lays 4-5 whitish eggs covered with reddish-brown spots in the nest. In the second half of June, the grown chicks leave the nests. Adult birds collect food for the chicks and for themselves along the banks of stormy mountain streams, less often near mountain lakes; they often catch prey in the water. Their diet is based on aquatic and semi-aquatic insects and their larvae, as well as mollusks, beetles and large ants. In autumn and winter, birds switch mainly to plant foods: they eat seeds and berries of rose hips, mulberries, wild grapes, hawthorn, etc.

BLUEBIRD (Myophonus caeruleos), a genus of birds in the thrush family.

The size of a jackdaw (body length on average 33 cm). A very beautiful bird. It differs from other blackbirds in its large size and blue color. The tail is quite long. The wings are rounded and short. The color is black and blue, with silver-violet sparkles on the back, head and chest, the wings and tail are dark blue. From a distance the bird appears black. The beak is yellow. Lives in the Himalayas, going down their slopes to the countries of Indochina. It inhabits the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai at altitudes from 1000 to 3500 m, and migrates lower in winter. In the last decade, the distribution of these birds has been noted in the Central Asian republics and in the eastern part of their range.

Lives in mountain gorges with streams and waterfalls. Common sedentary and nomadic bird. It lives alone and in pairs on rocks, stones, and less often on bushes and trees. When sitting, it raises and lowers its tail and moves it from side to side.

The cry is a sharp “jji”, the song is a set of loud flute whistles. The bluebird's voice drowns out the noise of the waterfall, but the timbre of the song is so melodic that its volume is not annoying.

It feeds on a wide variety of insects, catches fish in shallow water, and sometimes hunts for small rodents, lizards and juvenile snakes. It finishes off prey either with a powerful, hooked beak, trying to deliver a strong blow, or by hitting it against a stone.

A massive nest is built on a rock above the water, sometimes even behind a waterfall, made from moss, blades of grass, roots and dirt. The clutch consists of 4-5 pale greenish or pinkish eggs with darker speckles.

Due to its size, loud singing, limited distribution zone and low numbers, not many hobbyists keep the bird at home, although observing it in cage conditions is of significant zoological interest. Birds love to swim and are good at catching small fish that are released into the water. Feeding them in a cage does not cause problems; they eat well the traditional mixture for insectivorous birds, berries, fruits, as well as white bread and cottage cheese. They calmly deal with a mouse or vole. In general, their behavior in the house resembles the behavior of cats and dogs. So, they can gnaw a bone from soup just as well as a dog, and they play with a piece of paper or a bow on a string like kittens. The bluebird retains its aggressiveness even in captivity, not enduring any competition. It cannot be in a cage with its relatives, it pecks them to death. Of great interest is the breeding of this bird in aviary or semi-aviary conditions, given its small numbers in nature.

Encyclopedia of Pets KIRILL and MEFODIUS

In literature

• The Blue Bird (play) is a play by Maurice Maeterlinck.

• The Blue Bird (film, 1910) - UK
• Bluebird (film, 1918) - USA
• Bluebird (film, 1940) - USA
• Blue Bird (film, 1976) - USSR / USA
• Bluebird (anime) - Japan, 1980
• The Blue Bird (cartoon) is a 1970 satirical fairy tale based on the play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck.
• Fair wind, Blue Bird! - children's adventure film (USSR - Yugoslavia, 1967).

• Blue Bird (group) - Soviet VIA and several Russian musical groups, into which its members, authors and performers of numerous romantic songs, were divided.
• Blue Bird is a song by the group “Time Machine”.
  • Blue Bird Stew - a critical article about the group "Time Machine".
• Blue Bird - song by the group "Lumen".
• Blue Bird - song by the group “Black Obelisk”.

• Blue Bird (cafe) is a famous cafe in Moscow.
• “Blue Bird” is the name of the rescue amphibious all-terrain vehicle ZIL-49061
• Bluebird (Linux) is a project based on Ubuntu Linux, designed to assemble a distribution that is most suitable for specific purposes (for example, for a home station - install it - and that’s it. Nothing additional is needed)

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See what “Blue Bird” is in other dictionaries:

Happiness, bird Dictionary of Russian synonyms. blue bird noun, number of synonyms: 2 bird (723) happiness ... Synonym dictionary

BLUEBIRD, an active songbird (thrush family). Length is about 33 cm. The plumage is black and blue, the feathers at the ends are shiny, the beak is yellow. Distributed in the mountains (up to 2200 m above sea level) of South and Central Asia. Nests in rock cracks, always near... Modern encyclopedia

Bird of the thrush family. Length approx. 33 cm. The plumage is black and blue, the feathers at the ends are shiny. In the mountains of South, Center. and Wed. Asia (including the Tien Shan and Pamir-Altai). Singing sonorous flute whistle... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Myophonus caeruleus), bird of the family. blackbirds. Dl. on Wednesday. 33 cm. The plumage is black and blue, the tips of the feathers are shiny. The beak is yellow. Distributed in the mountains of the South. Asia; in the USSR in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai at altitude. from 1000 to 3500 m; in winter it migrates lower.… … Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Blue bird- BLUEBIRD, an active songbird (thrush family). Length is about 33 cm. The plumage is black and blue, the feathers at the ends are shiny, the beak is yellow. Distributed in the mountains (up to 2200 m above sea level) of South and Central Asia. Nests in rock cracks, always near... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

From French: Oiseau bleu. The title of the play by the Belgian playwright and writer Maurice Maeter Link (1862-1949), which tells about the adventures of the children of a poor woodcutter who went in search of the Blue Bird, which, as the talking Oak said, is... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

- “THE BLUE BIRD”, USSR USA, 20th century Fox/Lenfilm, 1976, color, 100 min. Extravaganza. Based on the play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Choreographers: Igor Belsky and Leonid Yakobson. The first Soviet-American film. Starring: Elizabeth Taylor (see TAYLOR Elizabeth), Jane Fonda... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

Bird of the thrush family. Length is about 33 cm. The plumage is black and blue, the feathers at the ends are shiny. In the mountains of South, Central and Central Asia (including the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai). Singing sonorous flute whistle. * * * BLUE BIRD BLUE BIRD... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Myophonus caeruleus) a bird of the thrush family of the passerine order. Body length is about 33 cm. The plumage is black and blue, the tips of the feathers have a strong shine. The beak is yellow. Distributed in the mountains of South Asia; in the USSR in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai, at the height... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Blue bird- himalajinė mėlynpaukštė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Myophonus caeruleus engl. blue whistling thrush vok. Purpurpfeifdrossel, f rus. common bluebird, f; bluebird, f pranc. Arrenga siffleur, m ryšiai:… … Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

The “bird of happiness” praised by Maeterlinck really exists! And it is scientifically called exactly as in the famous play - a blue bird, although sometimes another name is used - the lilac blackbird.

The blue bird lives in Central Asia, on the Hindustan Peninsula. From a distance it appears black, but upon closer examination it turns out to be actually blue, or rather lilac-violet with silvery “spangles” on the back. Its beak is bright yellow, with a dark, downward-curved tip. We can say that just seeing such beauty is already a great happiness!

Another common name for this bird in English is “schoolboy whistler.” The song of the purple thrush is gentle and melodic, but at the same time it easily covers the roar of any waterfall. It resembles the artistic whistling of the best pop masters. The fact is that the bluebird is a resident of mountain gorges, where fast-moving streams fly through narrow gorges with a roar and roar. So you have to whistle so that you can hear it through any noise!

HARSH MOUNTAIN PEOPLE

In ordinary life, the “bird of happiness” is far from being as peaceful and romantic as Maeterlinck’s. The nature of the purple blackbird is rather pugnacious and uncooperative, so you won’t see them in flocks. Bluebirds form pairs only during the breeding season. They occupy their own section of the gorge and nest in it for several years. The pair of lilac blackbirds immediately expels other contenders for the place, as well as their own grown chicks. It is here, on an inaccessible rock or in a secluded crevice right behind the jets of a waterfall, that birds build a nest. This is a massive, rather large structure made of moss, dry grass and thin roots. The nest is easy to spot, but not easy to reach: just try to get to the rock above the stormy stream.

Typically, passerines build a new nest every year. The bluebird is an exception to this rule. A couple can raise chicks in the same nest for several years, only by repairing and renewing it. When it completely falls apart, the birds will simply build a new one on the old “foundation.”

These purple beauties live in the same places all year round. Only the inhabitants of high mountains descend lower in winter, to less snowy and windy gorges. In March-April, the pair again occupies their favorite territory, and the male begins to sing. Its melodic whistle, merging with the noise of mountain streams, creates a unique and beautiful “music of the mountains.”

TEMPORARY UNION

Having completed the construction work, in which both parents participate, the female lays 4-6 whitish eggs with red-brown speckles and begins incubation. After 17-18 days, naked, blind and completely helpless babies hatch. For another 25 days, the parents diligently feed and warm them, and in June-July the chicks leave their native nest. Another week and the brood disintegrates. Parents also fly away to meet each other (and perhaps a new partner) only next spring.

DINING NEAR THE WATER

Bluebirds live near water and feed here. Their usual food includes invertebrates, large insects, mollusks, freshwater crabs and crustaceans. Behind them, the purple blackbird can go quite deep into the water. The “Bird of Happiness” easily catches voles or lizards. Its beak is strong, strong, with a hook at the end, and it easily kills small prey by hitting rocks. Sometimes purple blackbirds destroy the nests of other birds and even catch fledglings; it is not without reason that many small passerines react to them as enemies. In autumn and winter, whistling birds switch to plant food: hawthorn berries, rose hips, wild grapes, mulberries.

It is very interesting to observe the behavior of these amazing birds. Here they are jumping with fast jumps along the bank of a mountain stream, now they are almost diving into the water after prey, grabbing small fish in shallow water, and now they are running along the stream, shaking cold drops from their blue feathers. When there is danger and excitement, the bird's tail rises sharply upward, and then smoothly falls down, opening and folding like a fan.

HAPPINESS WITH HOME DELIVERY

Experienced hobbyists can keep bluebirds in captivity. True, only alone: ​​they do not tolerate neighbors and can even peck to death. Tame bluebirds love to bathe and play with the bow, just like kittens. They eat not only the usual mixture that is fed to insectivorous birds, but they will not refuse a bone from the soup, which they can easily gnaw off like a dog. Another funny feature is the habit of “shaking your shoulders” during a song, as if dancing a gypsy. Interestingly, in open-air enclosures, bluebirds often sing during the rain, when all other birds fall silent, waiting out the bad weather.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Class: birds.
Order: passerines.
Family: thrushes.
Genus: bluebirds.
Species: bluebird.
Latin name: Myophonus caeruleus.
Size: body length - 32-35 cm, wing length - 15-18 cm.
Weight: 180-200 g.
Color: lilac-violet, yellow beak.
Life expectancy of a bluebird: up to 17 years.